Diversity: An Educational Dilemma

The Importance of Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Diverse Classroom Environments

Kimberly Harrison4/8/2014

Introduction

There is a growing population of English Language Learners (ELLs) throughout the

United States, which directly affects the increasing number of non-native English speakers

enrolled in the educational system. Based on current legislation, these students are to be included

in the mainstream classroom as much as possible as a way to ensure they have an effective

educational experience despite any language barriers. However, if the teachers are not properly

prepared for a diverse classroom environment, this can be a frustrating experience for everyone

involved. In order to avoid this type of negative encounter, teacher preparation programs need to

adapt their requirements to ensure all teachers are equipped to educate all of their students. But

what does this type of program need to include that will ensure pre-teachers are adequately

prepared for diverse classrooms where all students can benefit? And how can the pre-service

preparation of teachers ensure a positive and well- rounded educational experience for both ELL

and non- ELL students that will help lead to their success in and out of the classroom?

Literature Review

I looked at a variety of sources to complete this research, but only a few made the final

cut into this paper. T. R. Johnson’s Teaching Composition, which is a compilation of scholarly

articles written by educators and experts in the writing field, was my most beneficial source, for

it contained a wealth of information I was able to sift through. The two main articles from this

text paired well with other information I found, for they all discussed ways to approach diverse

classrooms and how teachers should be prepared academically and mentally. The article by Lisa

Delpit, who is a scholar with years of experience in the education system, highlights how

important it is for teachers to have a positive mindset when approaching the diverse classroom,

which was also discussed in Donna Ford’s article. Ford came at this from the perspective of

treating students as guests in the classroom, and teachers need to recognize their differences as

important teaching tools, not as crutches. (Ford) Something else these two scholars stress is how

much a positive mindset can affect how we interact with others. When teachers enter the

classroom with prejudices in the forefront of their minds, their interactions with their students

will reflect their opinions, and they are more likely to look down on and have low expectations

for the minority students in their class. (Ford)

When searching for data to include, I was lucky to find a study that discussed a survey

given to 400 educators in New Mexico asking their opinions about inclusion. I was surprised to

see how negative these teachers were when discussing this topic and the changes that it would

bring to the educational system. (D’Alonzo) These negative views on what is now considered by

legislators to be a beneficial system just further proved to me that something needs to be done to

eliminate the prejudices, fears, and other negative opinions that educators have about something

that is not likely to change. These numbers made what Ford and Delpit even more relevant, for it

showed that these mindsets are real and unfortunately very common.

Possibly the most important source I found was a study where the educational standards

of the Central Region of the United States was evaluated. The researchers outlined six major

topics concerning ELLs that they believed were most important aspects of preparing teachers for

diverse classrooms, and then searched the state mandates for these topics. (Apthorp) What they

found was that all of the states in this area had at least two of the topics, but none had all of them,

showing that there are some holes that need to be filled in how teachers are prepared for future

situations. (Apthorp) What I thought was heartening was that based on these findings, the states

began to make changes to their programs to ensure that pre-teachers to receive a more well-

rounded education that will benefit all of their students. (Apthorp) After seeing the negative

numbers from the pre-inclusion survey, I was encouraged to know that some states are now

making strides to ensure that their teachers are ready for what they will inevitably face one day.

Methodology

Because of my experience in my internship classroom, I began considering the time

constraints teachers face when they have a diverse classroom population. However, due to

feedback from the professor, I switched my focus to teacher preparation programs and how they

can ensure teachers are equipped for this type of situation. I began researching by using the

library online databases. After having a group meeting with the research librarian, who aided

with the research process, I began using databases specifically designed for educators: ERIC and

Education Research Complete. The librarian also suggested some possible connection points for

us to consider for the presentation (democratic education or inclusion). The group decided the

topic of inclusion would be the best way to connect our research.

Based on the information gained from the library meeting, I continued to research on a

slightly expanded topic of how teachers can best instruct ELL students, and how they should be

prepared by preparatory programs for diverse classrooms. But when trying to decide how

individual projects would best fit together for the presentation, I began to consider the idea of

how this information could be application for parents who do not have ELL students, since this

will be the intended audience for this presentation. This affected my research as I expanded my

focus further.

Due to continued research and more group meetings, my research topic continued to

evolve throughout the process. I began to see how my topic could fit better with the research my

group members were completing and continued to adapt it to make the presentation more

connected. When the group met together and began to create a presentation outline, we noticed

that all of our topics could be connected in a different way: student success. Realizing that this

would be the best way to incorporate all of the different research focus, we designed our

presentation around this focus. This changed my research question to include how teacher

preparation for diverse classrooms ensures success for all students both in and out of the

classroom. Because of all these adaptations, my research question now includes all of these

aspects: how teacher prep programs can ensure the best possible educational experience for

diverse student populations, and what these programs need to include to ensure success for all

students.

Research Findings

As the population increases in the United States, the amount of people who are non-

native English speakers also grows. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics

(NCES), “the percentage of public school students in the United States who were English

language learners was higher in 2010-11 (10 percent, or an estimated 4.7 million students) than

in 2002-03 (9 percent, or an estimated 4.1 million students)” (National Center for Educational

Statistics). Another study by the NCES has found that “42% of the teachers surveyed indicated

that they had English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classroom, but only 12.5% of these

teachers had received more than eight hours of professional development specifically related to

ELLs” (de Jong 101). Based on the increasing population throughout the country, it is safe to

assume this number will continue to rise, meaning that something needs to be done to

accommodate the amount of students in the classroom who do not speak the same language as

the teacher or other students.

Current legislation affects ELLs in the sense that, instead of having their own classrooms

where they receive more specialized education from educators who have been trained

specifically for this population, they have to be included in mainstream classrooms as much as

possible. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), “Almost 30 years

of research and experience has demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can

be made more effective by – having high expectations for such children and ensuring their access

to the general education curriculum in the regular classroom, to the maximum extent possible”

(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). They have seen results indicating that inclusion of

non-native English speakers leads to a more equal and enriching education experience for these

students. Because of this ruling, the classroom dynamic is affected further by pairing the

mainstream teacher with a teacher with a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)

certification to aid with instruction.

However, the Virginia education standards concerning teacher preparation and non-

native English speakers are rather lacking. The only mentions of ELL instruction in the Virginia

Board of Education Licensure Regulations for mainstream teachers are: “The interaction of

children with individual differences … should be incorporated to include skills contributing to an

understanding of developmental disabilities and developmental issues [,and] teaching methods

appropriate for limited English proficient students … shall be included (Virginia Board of

Education 29).” There is also a line under the Reading section that says for special education, 6

semester hours are required for “language acquisition and reading” (Virginia Board of Education

30).

According to this document, pre-teachers are not specifically required to have time in the

classroom applying what they have learned outside of the 300 mandated hours for student

teaching. Although the document states that “these requirements may be taught in integrated

coursework or modules” (Virginia Board of Education 29), it does not provide any more specific

details as to how that instructional time should be spent. Since this leaves the power in the hands

of the specific teacher preparatory programs, it is easy for these programs to focus all of the

instruction on theory and forgo hands- on opportunities where pre-teachers can practice what

they have learned. (Virginia Board of Education) Unfortunately, this problem is not just found in

Virginia. “A recent AACTE survey of 417 institutes of higher education found that fewer than

one in six required any preparation for mainstream elementary or secondary teachers regarding

the education of ELLs” (de Jong 101). This goes to show that something needs to be done across

the country, or we will continue to provide a large population with a dissatisfying educational

experience.

A classroom that practices inclusion has the capability to be an ideal situation for both

educators and students, but problems can still arise if a mainstream teacher does not know how

to instruct, assess, and interact with a diverse population. The general education teacher is still

the main authority in the classroom, for the TESL teacher is mainly there to offer support and

occasionally lead classroom instruction. If the lead teacher does not know how to create

instruction accessible for all, then some students will experience a lot of frustration and not have

the educational experience they deserve, causing them to fall behind their native- English

speaking peers. Even though this set-up has proved to have benefits and positive results in many

cases, it can also be unfair to all of the parties involved, for despite the language and cultural

barrier, educators are still expected to teach all of the students, and these students are expected to

pass the state mandated standardized tests.

Teacher preparatory programs are tasked with the huge role of preparing the people who

will be educating the future of our country. The students they will be interacting with are the

ones who will be in charge one day, so instructors need to provide the students with skills

necessary for academic, professional, and personal success. But when they cannot communicate

with some or most of their students, problems arise. Not only are they unable to instruct them

properly, which in today’s educational system means enough to pass the class or the state

mandated standardized tests, but barriers are formed between the ELLs and the non- ELL

students. Frustration levels elevate in both the students and the educators, leading to higher drop-

out rates among this group than their English speaking peers.

But what can educators do? How can we ensure that the teachers going into the

classrooms are equipped with not only their content knowledge but also the ability to instruct all

of the students in their charge? I believe the most effective way to ensure teachers are prepared

for this diverse population is to provide them with opportunities where they can learn strategies

for effective teaching, eliminate any negative predispositions they might have, and have hands-

on opportunities to practice what they are learning before entering their own classroom.

Small changes have already been made in response to these growing amounts of ELL

students integrated into regular classrooms. A study similar to this one was conducted to evaluate

the educational standards in the Central Region of the United States in relation to preparing

teachers for diverse elementary classrooms. The states in this area are Colorado, Kansas,

Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. As a way to measure the

original standards, six topics were identified as effective for ELLs: “recognizing and supporting

diverse language backgrounds, differentiating instruction, selecting materials or curricula,

knowing theories of second language acquisition and related strategies of support,

communicating with students and families, and assessing students’ language status and

development” (Apthorp 2). The criteria for all seven states in this area were evaluated and it was

found that all of them included at least two of the six necessary aspects for effective instruction,

but none of them had all of these components. (Apthorp) In fact, none of the states’ standards

stated anything about “selecting, planning, and using, materials and resources that make

instruction and content as understandable as possible” (Apthorp 4). However, all seven states

mandate that educators in elementary schools have to be able to at least manage basic

communication with students and families who are not native- English speakers, which is

something that more state educational standards should include for all ages. (Apthorp)

But even if all preparatory programs are improved to provide the necessary instruction to

pre-teachers, possibly the most important aspect of readying teachers for a diverse classroom is a

change that only they can make on their own. Pre-teachers can be given plenty of strategies that

have been proven effective in other classrooms, but if they enter their classrooms with pre-

formed negative mindsets about the culture and abilities of the students, the learning experience

for all of the students will suffer. The phrase “the less we know about each other, the more we

make up” (Ford 29) is something everyone should keep in mind when interacting with any sort

of diverse population. Teachers need to evaluate their opinions of diverse students and then take

steps to improve these thoughts if necessary. (Ford) This is vital, for there is data that shows how

teachers who do not have a truly equal classroom environment tend to show their racial and

cultural prejudices by expecting poorer performances from the diverse population than their

native- English speaking peers. (Ford) By taking time to actually get to know the students and

understand their culture, teachers can allow their students to show their full potential, and the

classroom could be a much more beneficial place for everyone. (Ford)

When the concept of inclusion was first introduced, there was a large negative response

from educators who were skeptical of the program. When a group of 400 teachers, aides, and

administrators in New Mexico were surveyed about their opinions in 1997, the response from the

336 who completed the questionnaire focused on all of the changes that would have to take place

in order for inclusion to have a chance of being beneficial. The majority of the teachers had

similar feelings about these major issues, and proved their uneasiness about this program at that

time. (D’Alonzo) Some of the points they agreed on include:

-High amounts of teacher stress in full-inclusion classrooms (85.4%)

-Increased difficulties with classroom management (82.4%)

-Personnel should be prepared by universities to handle inclusion (83.0% agreement)

-Curriculum should be changed (71.1%)

-Quality education for all students would be a problem (70.2%) (D’Alonzo)

Some of the points that were closer include:

-Inclusion would not result in the elimination of labeling of students with disabilities (54.8%)

-It would not result in equal opportunity for all students (51.8%)

-Inclusion would lead to improved general education teacher tolerance of students with disabilities (40.5% disagree versus 40.2% agree) (D’Alonzo)

Based on these mindsets, one can assume that most of the teachers around the country

sympathized with these teachers. Knowing that so many teachers approached inclusion this way

emphasizes the importance of ensuring that they and all other educators should be prepared for

this classroom population and all of the issues that come with it. (D’Alonzo)

Lisa Delpit is another scholar who realizes the importance of knowing and understanding

what makes each classroom population unique. One key point that she emphasizes is the

importance of encouraging students to do their best at all times. When a teacher has a positive

approach to interacting with students, and makes instruction more applicable to their lives, they

will be more likely to want to participate in classroom activities. All students need to be placed

in situations where they can excel and realize the potential they have. (Delpit) Delpit also

introduces the relevance of a student’s home language. She says that this is “vital to their

perception of self and sense of community connectedness” (Delpit 499), for when the things they

know and where they come from is connected with the classroom instruction, the students do not

have to forgo who they are in order to accept the knowledge being presented to them. While

ELLs are more likely to have a different background to their teacher, this does not mean that this

concept cannot apply to their native- English speaking peers, for all can benefit from a safe

classroom environment where students can feel comfortable be themselves and not be ostracized

for their individuality. It is important to realize that these two environments can be successfully

mixed, for our identities are not fixed, but shaped by our experiences, the people around us, and

how we react to what is around us. (Delpit)

As far as time in the classroom is concerned, there are many ways to adapt instruction

and activities to ensure that the material is accessible for all students. Just because not all of the

students are as proficient with English as others does not mean that the instruction has to be

‘dumbed down’. Strategies specifically designed for ELLs can also be beneficial for the other

students in the classroom. Some of these include alternatives to common editing practices,

graphic organizers, image- based instruction, and differentiation.

The editing process is something that all students will encounter in their educational

career, but most student reactions to this important skill are more negative than positive. Scholars

Muriel Harris and Tony Silva point out that all students, especially ELLs, view English teachers

as “an editor, someone who will mark and correct their errors and help them fix their paper [yet]

it doesn’t make sense to focus initially on grammatical or mechanical problems which may

disappear as a result of rhetorically based revisions” (Harris and Silva 509). While many

educators are used to this type of instruction, it is not beneficial in the long run. Teachers need to

remove the focus from these menial details and instead encourage students to look at the big

picture of what really matters in their writing – the content. Instead of concentrating on the

negative, teachers need to begin the process by pointing out at least one positive aspect of the

writing. (Harris and Silva) Not only will this start the review session on a good note, but will also

give the student confidence in their work. From there, the editor should find one or two

reoccurring patterns in the student’s writing that need to be improved. Once the student is able to

correct these patterns, then focus can then be moved to other issues. Although this approach is

more time- consuming, making it difficult to accomplish during the regular school day, the

students will all benefit from breaking down the process and placing more emphasis on what

really matters instead of the menial grammatical errors. (Harris and Silva)

Graphic organizers are a “visual representation of knowledge […that] structure

information into a pattern and use labels to help make relationships among discrete pieces of

information clear. The use of graphic organizers makes recall and retention of materials easier

for many students” (Kohler 1). They can be used before, during, or after reading or learning

about a new topic as a way for the students to have an idea of what to look for, and have a place

to record the information that they will need to utilize later. These can be used in all subject areas

and with all age groups, which makes them a great teaching tool for all educators. All students

can benefit from using them, for they are ideal for making inferences about a new topic, taking

notes, and studying important information for tests. They can even aid students in formulating

ideas for writing papers. All of these are ideal for all students, no matter what their education

level is.

Art and images are able to communicate to everyone, whether they speak the same

language as the artist or not, making this type of medium ideal for a diverse classroom. Drawing

pictures is sometimes the best way to communicate with people who do not speak the same

language, for through images they can express what they cannot with words. Image-based

instruction allows students to express themselves through images instead of writing, which is

effective for English Language Learners and students who are more artistic. Even students who

are not good artists enjoy this break from typical classroom instruction, and might not even

realize that they are learning through this medium too. Ann Alejandro is an educator who

introduced art into her classroom and observed the immense benefits it had on the students, both

socially and academically. She acknowledged the visual connections between viewing art and

reading and writing, and realized that by teaching the students how to analyze art, they could also

learn how to analyze texts and improve their writing by recording their thoughts about the pieces

she showed them. (Alejandro)

Differentiation is one of most effective practices when dealing with a class where the

students are all at different academic levels. This system allows for a “wide variety of teaching

techniques and lesson adaptations that educators use to instruct a diverse group of students, with

diverse learning needs, in the same course” (The Glossary of Education Reform). In order to do

this, the teacher has to change certain aspects of the activity, so the “what” of the lesson (content,

process, or product) based on the “how” (student readiness level, interest, or learning profile). In

order to completely fulfill the requirement, at least one part from each section has to be changed.

(Roanoke College Education Department) An example of this is to offer the students the option

to either write a paragraph or draw a picture and write a complete sentence caption where they

summarize the events of a chapter. This differentiates the lesson product by the student learning

profile, since they will be able to choose how they will complete the activity based on which

method they prefer to use.

This is an activity I recently used in a public school classroom where majority of the

students are ELLs. Because of the population, I allowed the students the choice of either writing

or drawing, which was a way to incorporate image- based instruction. While I did not assign this

with low expectations, I was still amazed by the results I received. A few of the students did the

bare minimum – either just drawing a basic image with a simple sentence caption, or just writing

2-3 sentences for their paragraph – but most of the students really got into the activity. Some of

the paragraphs I received from both native speakers and English learners were over half a page

long, which was due to more than the size of their handwriting. One ELL who rarely talks in

class managed to write a full page about what we had just read, including some great detail. The

pictures were equally impressive, for some of the students drew several images to represent

various parts of the chapter, and then even included a full paragraph summary along with little

word bubbles to depict the characters speaking. I was very impressed with the work they

submitted, and am looking forward to experimenting with more activities like this one as ways to

get my future students interesting in the material we will cover.

Recommendations and Opinions

Currently, very few states mandate teachers have Teaching English as a Second

Language certification in order to teach in the mainstream classrooms. The population of non-

English speakers is growing all over the United States. If educators are not able to teach them,

then we are failing that percentage of the population. More states need to either require teachers

to take extra classes that will give them extra preparation for diverse classrooms, or improve the

classes that are already being taught to ensure the essential information is presented to the pre-

teachers. Either way, these programs need to find ways to assess that the people they are

certifying to instruct the students in today’s schools have learned and understand the strategies

they have been given. For despite the fact that teacher preparation programs, like the one here at

Roanoke College, try to provide strategies to the pre-teachers to encourage deviation from the

standard instructional practices, I have noticed when observing various classrooms how easy it is

for teachers to defer to the run-of-the-mill practices because of how simple they can be to

prepare and teach, regardless of how effective they truly are.

Realizing that there are limitations to the number of classes that pre-teacher programs can

mandate, solutions should be approached in other ways. I believe that programs need to

incorporate more real situations for the pre-teachers. By allowing them to be able to observe

diverse classrooms and the ways that teachers handle these populations, I believe that students

will be able to have a better understanding of how they should prepare for their future

classrooms. Having experienced the education program here at Roanoke College, I can

personally say that I did not realize the importance of being prepared for this type of situation

until this semester when I was placed in a classroom primarily made up of English Language

Learners. Looking back at all of the classes I have had to take, I am disappointed to realize that

most of the theory and information I have been presented was a lot of busy work in comparison

to all of the knowledge I could have gained in the field. Pre-teachers need to be given more

opportunities to practice what they are learning as a way to make these principles more

engrained in our minds. I also believe that students should be encouraged to continue their

education preparation by completing the few other TESL classes that will prove most beneficial

in the long run.

If I was able to continue this research further, I would want to survey students enrolled in

the Roanoke College Education Department. I am interested to see if the other pre-teachers feel

prepared to enter diverse classroom situations based on the instruction they have received here.

In an ideal situation, I would also want to present this information to the faculty of the College’s

Education Department to make a point that the students they are preparing to send out into their

own classrooms are not necessarily completely prepared for the population they will be

encountering, something that will be detrimental for these young new teachers.

Conclusion

Because of how America’s education system has been designed, it is almost impossible to

escape having English Language Learners in a public school classroom. All teachers need to be

prepared for this type of population. Not only will they and the students be more comfortable this

way, but this will also ensure a more fair educational experience for all.

By mixing up class time in ways like this, all of the students are able to show that they

are capable of succeeding in the classroom. Strategies like these do not have to be restricted to

just ELL writing, but can be applicable for all students. When teachers are fully prepared for a

diverse classroom and everything that comes with it, then can incorporate what they know to

teaching the students in their classroom, I believe that all of the students can benefit. When

educators prepare their minds and the learning environment to be open to whatever diversity they

might face, the students will be able to feel more comfortable to be themselves, and will be more

willing to accept each other in the long run. By ensuring that all students have a positive

educational experience, they will not only learn how to be successful in school, but also be able

to apply these concepts to other aspects of their lives to ensure success there too.

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